Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
